


Pathways of Brambles and Thorns

by Midnightsky29



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Also I want to be clear right off the bat, Also this is pretty much an AU that I've been working on for like three years now, And takes place REALLY far in the future compared to anything canon, Especially once I start doing battles more in-depth and all that, I'll probably add more tags as things go on, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lots of future angst folks, Please don't let that chase you away from the story or anything though, Rated how it is for swearing and future potential for violence, The main two characters are not very good people starting out, They are both terrible in various ways with a lot of flaws
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25641751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midnightsky29/pseuds/Midnightsky29
Summary: For as long as she could remember, Leira felt an empty part in her chest. Like she was destined for something somehow, out there in the world. Gazing at the stars helped lessen it, though she wasn’t sure how or why. So what was she meant to do when everything she had worked for was gone, her world stolen right out from under her own feet? Follow the feeling of course, when there was finally hints of a way to fill that emptiness and understand why she felt like that in the first place.





	Pathways of Brambles and Thorns

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a story that'll have a lot of love put into it and the characters in it. Any character that appears is going to 100% be an oc, mainly mine but there'll be at the very least mentions of ones that belong to one of my best friends who has helped shape this world with me. I can't say how often updates will be especially before I move out of my current living situation but I have no plans to leave this story unfinished. Any criticism or feedback is very appreciated too, I mainly only write one-shot based works.

One of Leira’s earliest memories was when she was a young child, though her age at the time escaped her. She remembered clutching onto her shinx plush, watching her mother open their front door with a bag held tightly in her hand. Her hair, a few shades darker purple than Leira's own, had been tied back in a bun.

“...Mom?” She had asked, taking a few steps forward as she gazed up at her. She couldn't see the matching pair of grey eyes behind the sunglasses on her face.

“Shh, darling,” Her mother had shushed her as she pulled the door open further behind herself. “Go back to bed, okay?”

“But where are you going? Outside is dark, that means sleep time.”

“I’m going on a trip, I’ll be back before you know it.” Her mother had offered her a smile tinged with sadness and a kiss on the head and then she was gone with a click of the door.

Leira never saw her again, nor did she realize until a few years later that her mother had lied to her about where she was going. Her father, on the other hand, had not taken quite so long to realize what had happened. Life wasn’t very easy for her after that.

She was blamed for her mother leaving, for their life becoming so much more difficult, for any little thing that went wrong. She learned early in life how to hide the bruises and make excuses. It took her a lot longer to learn how to manipulate others, the only way that gave her control back.

While she never quite found a way to get the punishments to stop she did figure out how to distract her father. Enough alcohol and he would pass out for the night, allowing her to slip out to find her own dinner and to sneak away to a forested area to stargaze and hide.

\--- 

Her luck changed one rainy night, when she was around ten years old. She had snuck out again once her father had passed out from drinking too much, found herself some dinner for the night and had gone for a walk near where her favorite stargazing place was.

She had been twirling her umbrella as she hopped into a puddle when the bushes to her left had started to shake. When she investigated it she found a small, shaking ralts that was completely soaked from the rain.

“Are you lost…?” Leira asked, her brows scrunched as she tried to think of how someone could lose their pokemon like that. “Do you have a trainer?”

The ralts shook its head.

“Mm… So there’s nobody to take care of you?” She tilted her head, watching as the ralts shook its head again.

“...Stay here, kay?”

She had run off, buying a pokeball with what money she had leftover. The ralts, a female she later learned, had allowed herself to be captured and Leira named her Serina because she had heard it on tv once and thought it sounded pretty.

She made sure to keep Serina a secret from her father, the ralts becoming her first and only friend in life. The day the ralts had evolved into a kirlia she had cried in joy, overcome with pride for her friend. The two had psychic conversations often, the only ones she could really have when other kids avoided her in school.

Lying and manipulating others became easier as she grew older and wiser, finding the right words to get others to do what she wanted for her. She was determined to never feel as weak and powerless in life as she did when around her father.

\--- 

She left home when she was eighteen, finally able to be free at least. Sinnoh was hers for the taking, the next couple years full of her wandering the region and getting others to do whatever she wanted when she wanted it.

When she was twenty-five she decided to see what all the whispers were about for a shady so-called gang. It didn’t take her long to fit in with them, their battling style being outlawed because they actively fought with their pokemon, targeting other trainers who fought like them for fun and money.

Most of them used weapons in their battles. Leira didn’t need them. Serina had long since evolved into a gardevoir and the two took the tournaments held twice a year by storm, dominating would-be competition. During their fourth tournament she challenged one of the three elites, the most powerful of all of the trainers present, and took their place.

She was joined in elite status by an intriguing woman named Athena and a so-called tough guy with a name she couldn’t quite remember at the moment. She took joy in flirting with both, even if the former drew her interest more. Angering the steel-type specialist was more fun, especially the way he always fell for her tricks and falsely sweet words. Athena was definitely the better looking of the two though, with her forest green eyes and dark blue hair secured in a ponytail at all times.

Leira was on top of the world when a newcomer caught her interest, a woman named Roxy who used shurikens in battle paired with a haunter named Augustin. She didn’t have much interest in flirting with the grunt but found her intellect and quick thinking too useful to push aside. With the other woman at her side she knew that she could be even more powerful.

\--- 

“Athena, dear!” Leira practically cooed as she approached the taller woman. “That battle was amazing, as expected from you.”

“Thanks.”

Leira wasn’t put off by the cold response, waving a hand at the nidoqueen that Athena battled with. Atalanta snorted at her, turning back to her meal.

“Say, have you noticed that Roxy girl? I was considering taking her under my wing, like an apprentice. You’re one of the wisest people I know, of course, I was wondering if you’ve ever talked to her.”

“She’s in your subdivision not mine.” Athena shrugged before turning another page of the book she was reading. She raised an eyebrow as Leira sat on the arm of the chair with an easygoing smile, “Why are you interested in her? All those grunts are the same.”

“She’s a very smart woman. Isn’t it better to get her on our side before she comes after us?” At Athena’s blank look she sighed and continued, “She could easily overthrow one of us as an elite. If I win her trust I can use her to keep the divide bigger between us and the grunts as well as making sure she doesn’t. Two birds with one stone.”

“Doesn’t it just give her an edge against us though?”

“Don’t be ridiculous dear! I’ll keep her wrapped around my finger, she’ll be so charmed by me that she wouldn’t even dream of a battle.”

“Mhm. Right.” Athena looked up from her book again, not even a little impressed by the words. “I’ll be here to say I told you so when this blows up in your face.”

“You’re such a kidder!” Leira laughed, not taking the deadpan words to heart. She then gently poked Athena’s nose with her pointer finger, “I’ll be here to say it instead when my plans succeed my dear!”

She stood up from her perch with a charming smile and a wave, vanishing off to her room to come up with a plan for charming the grunt. Roxy wouldn’t know what hit her.

\--- 

“You’re Roxy right?”

The black-haired woman startled, turning to Leira.

“Uh… Yes. You’re elite Leira.”

“Oh good, so you know me and I know you!” Leira wrapped an arm around her shoulder, a smile on her face. “I’ve noticed you have potential, you could be amazing with the right guidance. So, I’ve decided to mentor you! It’s your lucky day.”

“...What?”

“Don’t be so surprised, it’s only natural someone would take notice of your skills and be interested in teaching you how to use them better.”

Roxy slipped under her arm, putting some distance between them, eyeing Leira warily. Her haunter narrowed his eyes at the elite, hovering behind his trainer.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Roxy asked, folding her arms across her chest. “What skills exactly?”

“Your quick thinking of course! Plus don’t play dumb, I’ve noticed how smart you are. If you wanted you could take this place by storm darling!”

Roxy faltered from her tense stance, looking like she was considering her words. It only lasted for a few moments before she resumed it however.

“First of all, don’t call me darling. Second of all, why should I believe you? For all I know this could be a trap.”

“I know you’re too smart to fall for a trap of course, why even bother with one? All I want to do is help you reach your maximum potential.”

Roxy didn’t seem fully convinced still, glancing back at her haunter. Then, she sighed and uncrossed her arms, sticking a hand out towards Leira.

“I don’t trust you but… I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

“Oh trust me darling, you won’t regret this one bit.” Leira grinned at her, reaching out and shaking her hand.

\--- 

Roxy was a natural it turned out, taking down any obstacles before her with ease. Leira was impressed of course, but also very glad she had recruited the grunt to her side when she had.

“I’ll admit it,” Athena’s voice spoke as Leira startled, “This wasn’t that bad of a plan all things considered.”

Leira turned to her with wide eyes as the taller woman finished walking over to her, leaning against the tree behind her and folding her arms across her chest. Roxy had her back turned to them, busy with target practice with her weapon of choice. Leira smoothed out her features, a hand on her hip as she melted into the picture of casual calmness.

“Well of course dear, after all it’s a plan I came up with and executed. As she improves we could even use her to deal with the more… outspoken competition we have as well. The perfect weapon, starting from moldable clay for us.”

“Don’t tell that asshole that, or compare her,” Athena nodded her head at Roxy, “To some sorta steel weapon. I’ll have to kick his ass again and I have better things to do than deal with that prick.”

“Oh relax dear, I didn’t plan on mentioning it to him anyways. I was thinking it could be our little secret.”

“As long as you never call it that again.”

Leira laughed, nudging Athena and pointing out an excellent move from Roxy. Athena allowed her, watching the grunt with a seemingly bored expression on her face.

From there things only improved, Roxy becoming a formidable battler. Leira manipulated her with ease, knocking out would-be rivals without ever having to lift a finger. She waved away any of Athena’s warnings about Roxy potentially outsmarting her, scoffing at the very idea. It was simply impossible for that to happen.

She pretended it didn’t bother her for some odd reason when the warnings stopped and her conversations with Athena became less common.

\--- 

For as long as she could remember, Leira felt an empty part in her chest. Like she was destined for something somehow, out there in the world. Gazing at the stars helped lessen it, though she wasn’t sure how or why.

She had felt so tired lately with so much to do. Organizing the tournaments took so much time and energy, mainly because a lot of it was left to her to do.

_“Is something bothering you?”_ A clear feminine voice rang out in her mind. She offered Serina a tired smile, the gardevoir checking over her with subtle worry in her expression. The two had only ever had each other, hadn’t they?

“I’m fine Ser, don’t worry about it.” She gazed back up at the stars, inhaling deeply. A quiet humming filled her head, Serina’s attempt at helping her relax. It helped her more than she could quite articulate to her best friend, just like it always had in all the years the two had known each other.

When she returned to base Athena was sitting in the common room the elites shared away from the grunts, appearing to read a book. Leira spared her a glance, an ache in her bones settling in. Perhaps she could get a few hours of sleep in before having to get back up and continue organizing.

“Glad you could join us again.”

Or perhaps not. Restraining a sigh she turned to face Athena, plastering a smile on her face to cover up her tiredness.

“Hm? Did you miss me dear?”

“The cops are getting closer and more on our case. You can’t just vanish like that.”

“Relax, nothing will happen. Serina wouldn’t let it even if I wasn’t on my guard.”

Athena frowned at her for a few more moments before sighing and standing up. She hesitated, looking like she wanted to speak more, before simply returning to her room. Leira blinked after her, alone in the room. After a minute with no signs of Athena returning to continue she went to her own room to get more sleep.

\--- 

Roxy had gotten smarter, able to weave together sentences almost as easily as Leira could. She still had a rough edge to them of course or not enough emotion, but she was improving. Almost too fast.

Leira was growing worried. The second tournament near the end of the year was coming up and if she wasn’t careful her prodigy apprentice could overthrow her. Roxy had brought in a new boy named Andreo but she could never quite catch him, even his pokemon being a mystery. That was dangerous, especially with type advantages.

She knew Roxy and Augustin could destroy her and Serina, they had range and super effective moves on their side. If the grunt had brought in someone with similar statistics to take out another of the elites then whoever was left would be outnumbered and at a huge disadvantage.

She would lose all of the power she had carefully built up and safeguarded. How long had she been getting played for? Had she been manipulated right back without ever realizing it?

...Had Athena been right all along? Or had they both been wrong in the end, being doomed from before Leira had even taken a step?

\--- 

“What do we do?” Leira watched Roxy and Andreo crush the competition at the tournament. The boy had a lapras. Dread had settled in as soon as she had realized the targets.

Athena herself looked a little pale, an uncommon sight for sure. She had pieced it together too clearly which wasn’t that surprising. Athena was a tough and smart woman who pushed her grunts past their limits. Leira wasn’t quite sure why that was but if the two of them were overthrown she knew she likely would never get to find out the reasoning behind it.

“We wait and see. If they don’t make their move now then we’ll have time to plan.”

“...And if they do make their move?”

“Then we’re fucked.”

Leira couldn’t help but snort in amusement though she regretted it at the withering look Athena sent her way, clearly not seeing what was so funny in her response.

“Then… I wish you luck in your battle.”

“You too.”

\--- 

They were crushed by the two challengers. She had a feeling they never had a chance at all. So what was next for them? She glanced at Athena, uncertain of the future for the first time in years.

"...I wonder what the other regions are like."

Leira blinked, turning back to the other woman.

"Want to see about Hoenn?"

It finally registered to her what Athena meant. An invitation to join her and travel elsewhere in the world. A smile spread across her face.

"I think it would be interesting to visit dear."

\--- 

It took her less time than she cared to admit to be packed and ready to leave. She left without much of a glance back, Athena at her side.

They arrived in Slateport City and as she stopped to take it all in she felt a little less empty, as if things were somehow progressing as they were meant to. She felt at peace for a brief moment.

"...Hm." Athena seemed to be standing up a little straighter, "It's already starting to feel a little like home huh?"

Did she… feel the same pieces slotting into place in her chest as Leira did?

"...It appears so, doesn't it?"


End file.
